This was a request made by several brands for a few days.
Large retailers finally won their case. The sale of self-tests in supermarkets was authorized this Tuesday morning, on a temporary basis. A decree signed by Olivier Véran was published in the Official Journal indicating that “exceptionally and until January 31, 2022, self-tests for antigenic detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on nasal swab (…) can be sold at retail“. “These medical devices are reserved for asymptomatic people for their personal use only.“, It is specified.
Until then, the sale of self-tests was restricted to pharmacies. But the supermarket chains (in particular E.Leclerc, Lidl, Intermarché and Système U) have been pushing the government for a few days to extend this authorization to supermarkets, promising to sell them at cost price. They highlighted the shortages of stocks observed in pharmacies in the face of growing demand, linked in particular to the end of year celebrations.
Read alsoPrice, reliability, instructions for use: all you need to know about self-tests, now sold by supermarkets
Satisfaction on the side of large-scale distribution
The president of Système U, Dominique Schelcher, was the first to react to this news. “The order authorizing the sale of self-tests was published this morning. We will be offering them at cost price in our stores in the coming days. Here is a service expected by our customers, just like masks and gels“, He congratulated himself on Twitter, a few minutes after indicating on RTL that they could be sold”less than two euros“. Michel-Edouard Leclerc, boss of the E.Leclerc group, felt that it was “a fair and useful decision“. “Our teams will rise to the challenges, alongside community pharmacists. E.Leclerc will sell the self-tests at cost priceHe wrote on Twitter.
Carrefour also says “welcome the decision of the public authorities“. The self-tests will also be sold there at cost price. “They will be available, in store and in e-commerce, from Friday, or even a little earlier.“, Says one on the side of the company. Auchan will also sell it in its stores, too “at cost price“.
On the contrary, among pharmacists, who were campaigning to keep the monopoly, it is grimaceous soup. “I am absolutely opposed to this decision. It does not go in the direction of the quality of the care taken against the Covid», Scolds Philippe Besset, president of the Federation of Pharmaceutical Unions of France (FSPF), joined by Le Figaro. According to him, this measure reflects “a complete change in the government’s testing strategy“. With the self-tests, there is “no traceability possible», He criticizes, also criticizing the reliability of these screening tests to be carried out oneself.
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